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Court Rules That Police Must Be Careful In Dealing With The Mentally Ill

Publication Date:

March 06, 2014

Source:

Daily Journal

Author:

Hamed Aleaziz

Professor Robert Weisberg comments on a recent court ruling that will change the way police officers treat physically or mentally disabled citizens during arrests.

A recent U.S. appeals court ruling will force law enforcement officers to consider an individual's mental or physical disabilities when making an arrest or doing a forced entry, experts say.

"It's the first time that police out west have been formally warned that they must take account of mental illness when they do a forced entry," said Robert Weisberg, a professor at Stanford Law School.

"They have to distinguish aggressive criminals from hyper-emotional mentally ill people and show more restraint," he added.